Richard Honour

Richard Honour

Mar 21, 2015

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Bird's Nest Fungi

The Bird's Nest Fungi are one of more interesting genera that thrive in land-disposed sewage sludge, and are under our investigation.

Key to the species of BIRD'S NEST FUNGI in the Pacific Northwest

Prepared for the Pacific Northwest Key Council By Marguerite Fay, Kit Scates & Robert Ramsey Copyright © 1981, 2003-2007 Pacific Northwest Key Council

The family Nidulariaceae, as used here, consists of twelve species in six genera. Fruiting bodies are small, usually less than 15 mm high and 10 mm wide. In keeping with the common name, "Bird's Nest Fungi", some are seen to resemble an avian nursery when the lid (epiphragm) falls away and the peridioles appear as "eggs" which usually have a covering called a tunica. Within the peridiole, the spores are smooth and no capillitium is present as in the Lycoperdaceae. The fruiting bodies may appear singly but will usually be found in groups of few to many on wood, woody debris, dung or soil.

SPECIES

B.C.

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

IDAHO

MONTANA

Crucibulum laeve

Common 1

Common 2, 23

Common 2

Common 3

Found 4

Found 5

Crucibulum parvulum

Found 6

Cyathus helenae

Found 6

Cyathus olla

Reported 7

Found 8, 20, 23

Found 9

Found 5

Found 4

Cyathus pygmaeus

Found 6

Found 6

Found 6

Found 6

Cyathus stercoreus

Found 20, 23

Found 10

Found 11

Found 4

Cyathus striatus

Found 6

Found 5, 23

Found 12

Included 13

Found 4

Found 5, 22

Mycocalia denudata

Found 6

Nidula candida

Common 1

Found 6, 23

Common 6

Common 11

Nidula niveotomentosa

Common 6

Common 14, 23

Common 15

Common 11

Found 4

Nidularia farcta

Found 16, 23

Found 4

Nidularia pulvinata

Found 17

Found 23

Sphaerobolus sp.

Found 18

Found 21, 23

Found 10, 21

Included 13

Found 19

Found 22

  • 1.found here according to Harold Brodie, The Bird's Nest Fungi, University of Toronto 1975, common according to Oluna Ceska pers. comm.
  • 2.found here according to V.S. Smith, "The Nidulariaceae of North America" Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 29: 251-280. 1902; common according to Lorelei Norvell pers. comm.
  • 3.found here according to David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified; one of the most likely bird's nest fungi to be encountered in the San Francisco Bay area according to www.mykoweb.com
  • 4.photographed by Kit Scates-Barnhart
  • 5.according to V.S. Smith, ibid.
  • 6.according to Harold Brodie, ibid.
  • 7.identified and vouchered from South Vancouver Island by Oluna Ceska, not common
  • 8.Davis, 1975 MSc thesis
  • 9.Harold Brodie, "Infertility between two distinct forms of Cyathus olla", Mycologia 44: 413-423. 1952.
  • 10.S.M. Zeller, "Contributions to our Knowledge of Oregon Fungi - I", Mycologia 14: 173-199. 1922. Sphaerobolus stellatus specifically recorded from Oregon in Geml et al. 2005b
  • 11.David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified
  • 12.found here according to Judy Roger, pers. comm.
  • 13.included in Fungi of California www.mykoweb.com
  • 14.found here according to V.S. Smith; Harold Brodie, ibid., implies common here
  • 15.Lorelei Norvell, pers. comm.
  • 16.photographed here by Kit Scates-Barnhart; Buck McAdoo has a record from Bellingham, 1985; Michael Beug pers. comm.; Dennis Oliver, pers. comm.
  • 17.according to Harold Brodie, ibid., "fairly common on driftwood"
  • 18.Sphaerobolus species unspecified, C. Roberts, pers. comm.; also reported here by Paul Kroeger; S.J. Hughes collection at Pacific Forestry Center
  • 19.collected here by E. Trueblood according to L. Norvell, pers. comm.
  • 20.collection at University of Washington
  • 21.Dennis Oliver, pers. comm., Sphaerobolus iowensis recorded from Washington (Geml et al. 2005b)
  • 22.Larry Evans, pers. comm.
  • 23.collection(s) at University of Washington (WTU)


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About This Project

The Precautionary Group

We've discovered a few new mushrooms thriving in this harsh environment of land-disposed sewage sludge in Snoqualmie, Washington. We're testing these mushrooms for new antimicrobial properties. Microbes that survive exposure to toxic sewage sludge engage adaptive mechanisms that transform toxins into secondary metabolites.

Blast off!

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